The 13th prince of Britannia, Sora ki Britannia and 12th prince of Britannia, Riku ki Britannia lived with their strict father, Emperor Charles zi Britannia, and their mother in the capital city of the Holy Britannian Empire, Pendragon. When Riku was ten, and Sora was nine, their mother was mysteriously shot to death. Ultimately, Sora was caught in the crossfire and could no longer walk, and was blinded from trauma of seeing his mother murdered. Riku became angry that his father did nothing to solve the murder and renounced his anointment to the throne, and he and his brother were thereof placed in the care of the Kururugi Shrine, in Japan. In this time, Kairi Kurunugi became friends with Riku, but they were separated from each other because of the war, which ended Japan's existence in 2010 in the given calendar. The area's name became "Area 11" as a mocking gesture to the month long defeat of the nation. Later they were taken in by the Ashford Academy, run by the Ashford Foundation of which their mother was a test pilot for. They were given a maid, Sayoko Shinozaki, to assist with the care of Sora, and they lived in hiding for years.